CITES 1973, in Outline
Chapter Thirty-Three
Syllabus topic 1, "Bio-diversity"
Pages 102 to 104 of 818
In one line
CITES regulates the trade in an endangered species rather than the killing of it, and it works because a permit has to be produced at both ends of the transaction.
In exam wording: the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora was signed at Washington on 3 March 1973; Article II establishes three Appendices, Article III governs trade in specimens of species included in Appendix I, Article IV in Appendix II and Article V in Appendix III; Article VIII requires each Party to penalise trade in or possession of specimens traded in violation of the Convention and to provide for confiscation or return; Article IX requires the designation of Management Authorities and Scientific Authorities; and Article XI establishes the Conference of the Parties.
Why it is here and where it is worked
CITES is named in Module I because it is one of the treaties that make up the international legal order for biodiversity. It is worked in full in Module IV, because Chapter VB of the Wild Life (Protection) Act 1972, inserted by the Amendment Act of 2022, is India's implementation of it, and because the University sets the regulation of trade in wildlife products on six of her eight papers.
The three Appendices
Appendix I includes all species threatened with extinction which are or may be affected by trade. Trade in their specimens must be subject to particularly strict regulation and authorised only in exceptional circumstances.
Appendix II includes species which although not necessarily now threatened with extinction may become so unless trade is strictly regulated, and other species which must be regulated so that trade in the first group can be brought under effective control. The second limb is the look-alike provision: a species may be listed because its specimens cannot be told apart from those of a listed one.
Appendix III includes species which any Party identifies as being subject to regulation within its own jurisdiction and as needing the cooperation of other Parties to control trade. A Party lists a species in Appendix III unilaterally.
The practical difference. Appendix I requires both an export permit and an import permit, and the import permit may be granted only if the specimen is not to be used for primarily commercial purposes, so commercial trade is effectively prohibited. Appendix II requires only an export permit. Appendix III requires an export permit from the listing State and only a certificate of origin from any other.
What the Indian Act did with it in 2022
Before 2022 India implemented CITES administratively, through the export and import policy and the customs law. The Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Act 2022 inserted Chapter VB, sections 49D to 49R, and a new Schedule IV listing the specimens of species included in the Appendices.
CITES 1973, in Outline
Section 49E requires the Central Government to designate a Management Authority; section 49F a Scientific Authority; section 49H regulates international trade in scheduled specimens; sections 49-I to 49L set the conditions for export, import, re-export and introduction from the sea; sections 49M to 49-O deal with possession, transfer and breeding of a living scheduled animal species and the licence for a breeder of an Appendix I species; section 49Q makes species and scheduled specimens Government property.
Worked example
A dealer in Chennai wishes to export a consignment of a listed reptile skin to a buyer in Germany. Work the outline through.
Which Appendix? If the species is in Appendix I, Article III requires both an export permit from India and an import permit from Germany, and the German import permit can be granted only if the Management Authority is satisfied that the specimen is not to be used for primarily commercial purposes. A commercial consignment therefore fails.
If it is in Appendix II. Article IV requires an export permit only, granted on the advice of the Indian Scientific Authority that the export will not be detrimental to the survival of the species and on the satisfaction of the Management Authority that the specimen was not obtained in contravention of Indian law protecting fauna and flora.
Indian law on the same facts. If the species is also in Schedule I or II of the 1972 Act, section 9 prohibited the hunting in the first place, and Chapter VA may prohibit dealing in the article altogether. Chapter VB then governs the export, through sections 49H and 49-I. The permit is issued by the Management Authority designated under section 49E on the advice of the Scientific Authority under section 49F.
Enforcement. Article VIII of the Convention requires each Party to penalise trade in or possession of such specimens and to provide for confiscation or return to the State of export. In India that is section 51, and the seizure powers are in section 50.
The lesson in outline. The Convention regulates the transaction; the Indian Act regulates the animal, the article and now also the transaction. A student answering a trade question needs both layers.
Quick revision
- Signed at Washington, 3 March 1973.
- Article II: three Appendices. Article III: Appendix I. Article IV: Appendix II. Article V: Appendix III.
- Appendix I: export and import permits, and not for primarily commercial purposes.
- Appendix II: export permit only, on a non-detriment finding.
- Appendix III: unilateral listing; certificate of origin from other States.
- Article VIII: penalise and confiscate. Article IX: Management and Scientific Authorities. Article XI: Conference of the Parties.
- India implements it through Chapter VB and Schedule IV of the Wild Life (Protection) Act 1972, inserted in 2022.
CITES 1973, in Outline
Test yourself
1. What is the practical difference between Appendix I and Appendix II? Appendix I requires an export permit and an import permit, and the import permit may issue only if the specimen is not to be used for primarily commercial purposes, so commercial trade is effectively barred. Appendix II requires only an export permit granted on a finding that the export will not be detrimental to the survival of the species.
2. What is the look-alike provision and why is it needed? The second limb of Article II, paragraph 2, which allows a species to be listed in Appendix II because its specimens must be regulated so that trade in a listed species can be brought under effective control. It is needed because enforcement happens at a border, by officers who must identify a specimen by sight.
3. Which chapter of the Indian Act implements CITES, and when was it inserted? Chapter VB of the Wild Life (Protection) Act 1972, sections 49D to 49R, inserted by the Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Act 2022, together with Schedule IV, which lists the specimens of species included in the Appendices to the Convention.
The rest of this subject
These notes are cut from the University's printed syllabus. Open the syllabus itself, or the past papers, for the same subject.